hildebrand



y 1963 o. w. HILDEBRAND 3,0

SPRING CLAMP Filed June 8, 1961 INVENTOR. OLIVER W. HiLDEBRAND BY a" ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,097,403 SPRING CLAMP Oliver W. Hildebrand, 6338 Lena, Jennings 20, Mo. Filed June 8, 1961, Ser. No. 115,769 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-455) This invention relates in general to clamps, and, more particularly, to certain new and useful improvements in spring clamps adapted for detachably retaining an article upon a supporting body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clamp which is adapted for retaining, in a readily removable state, an article upon a supporting body, such as, elongated members, including, by way of example, reds, bars, clothes lines, etc.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character stated which may be quickly and easily mounted on a supporting body and which may be easily operated for engaging an article to be retained or for effecting liberation of such article therefrom.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character stated which may be most economically manufactured, be amenable to high volume, low-cost production; which may be utilized effectively by unskilled individuals; which is extremely versatile in usage; and which is reliable and durable in usage, providing article-gripping preventive of accidental dislodgement.

Other objects and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein- FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a clamp constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention illustrating same in operative position upon a supporting rod.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the clamp.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the clamp.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-"5 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now by reference characters to the accompanying drawing, A generally design-ates a spring clamp formed from a single length of resilient wire, said clamp being of general U-shaped configuration having a loop or 'arcuate portion 1 and legs 2, 2; said latter being longer than the former. Each of said legs 2, 2. at their free ends are provided with spring coils 3, 3, respectively; said coil 3 having a relatively substantially greater number of turns than coil 3. Because of the differential in length of legs 2, 2, said coil 3' is, longitudinally of clamp A, spaced from coil 3 (see FIGURE 2). The axes of legs 2, 2 are respectively inclined to the axis of the related coil (see FIGURE 3) with the included angles being substantially identical and less than 90 degrees. The inside diameters of coils 3, 3 are dictated by the particular supporting body upon which clamp A is to be used, with such diameters being substantially equivalent to the outside diameter of the supporting body, such as, for purposes of illustration, a rod R (see FIGURE 1) whereby said coils will frictionally engage the rod R by snugly embracing same and provide proper bearing for the associated parts of clamp A. Each leg 2, 2 proximate loop 1 is bent to present inclined sections 4, 4' respectively disposed at an acute angle to the plane defined by legs 2, 2' and being directed in such manner as to substantially align loop 1 with coils 3, 3'. The inclination of sections 4, 4' will cause the upper portion or zenith of loop 1 to be in substantial registration with the uppermost portions of coil 3, 3 when clamp A is in operative position. (See FIGURE 1.)

'It will be noted that legs 2, 2 are in generally parallel relationship when said clamp A is in inoperative or dismounted condition, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, but when said clamp A is engaged upon a supporting body as rod R, legs 2, 2' will be forced into mutual convergence at their coiled ends by reason of said coils 3, 3 being brought into coaxial relationship.

In actual usage, clamp A may either be used singly for holding a single article, or, as in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1, may be used jointly, in combination with other such clamps, for gripping an enlarged object, such as, an article of bedclothing, indicated at 4'0. Clamp A is mounted by placing same upon the support member or rod, in this case, R, so that the latter, will be relatively inserted through loop 1 and coils 3, 3', which latter are thereby forced into coaxial relationship with consequent convergence of legs 2, 2. In such positions, said coils 3, 3 provide bearings for clamp A. With said clamp so mounted, legs 2, 2 will tend, by reason of their specific relationship to coils 3, 3', away from the support body or rod R and by means of sections 4, 4 will be directed return-ingly toward the support body. Loop 1 on its inner central surface is presented in intimate forceful abutment against the confronting portion of supporting body or rod R. Thus, due to the bias of legs 2, 2, the incorporated loop 1 will be urged downwardly upon support body or rod R so as to provide a suitable clamping relationship therewith, whereby rod R, or such other support body as may be used, will, in effect, form a fixed jaw with loop 1 being, as it were, a movable jaw. In order to momentarily remove loop 1 from abutment upon rod R, one need merely press against the outer sides of legs 2, 2 to drive same toward the said rod or support body R, thereby acting against the normal bias of said legs to force loop 1 away from red R to allow the insertion of an article to be engaged, or the removal of articles from this engagement.

As shown in FIGURE 1, for exemplary purposes, rod R is depicted as a support for a flexible member 40, such as an article of bedclothing which may be a garment, or the like; which member 40 is engaged grippingly between rod R and loop 1 in a snug fitting manner, being thus secured in position and held against accidental displacement. After member 40 has been dried or subjected to whatever treatment it might, the user, in the manner above stated, upon the exercise of limited pressure may force legs 2, 2 upwardly, toward rod R to lift loop 1 from gripping position and thereby frees the erstwhile engaged member for removal and permit the reception of a successive article.

The simplicity of the present invention is apparent from the foregoing, as the same is made from a single length of resilient Wire stock and is thus adapted for high-speed, high-volume production at a minimum cost. Clamp A may be easily engaged upon, or disengaged from, a support member without the use of any extraneous tools and thus can be readily utilized by an unskilled individual. Clamp A is extremely versatile in usage, being adapted for multipurposes, such as, for domestic, commercial, and industrial use, and may be used upon vertically or horizontally presented bars, and the like, for retaining myriads of objects, including, by way of further example, merchandise on display in stores, such as, items packaged in bags, for ready detachment by a self-serving customer.

The unique relationship of the various parts of this invention conduce in a novel and unexpected manner to provide the tight, gripping action between the clamp and the support body to assure reliable engagement of any article.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the formation, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the spring clamp may be made and substituted for these herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A clamp adapted for detachable engagement upon an elongated support member comprising a generally U- shaped body formed from a single length of spring metal stock having an arcuate bend portion and a pair of legs of different length progressing in like direction from said arcuate bend portion, a coil being formed at the end of each leg remote from said arcuate bend, the longitudinal taxes of said coils being normally inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the related leg, said legs through normal bias of the U-shaped body being norm-ally spacedapart in axially parallel relationship and with the related coils being thereby normally urged away from each other, said coils being spaced from each other longitudinally of said body by virtue of the length of the respective logs, the longitudinal axes of said coils being parallel when said clamp is in normal detached condition, each coil having an inside cross-section for snug reception of said support member, and said legs being bent at points adjacent to the arcuate bend portion whereby when said clamp is engaged upon an elongated support member said legs will be forced toward each other with the related coils being brought into coaxial relationsbip to thereby cause the development of opposing lateral forces for maintaining the device against accidental longitudinal displacement of the support membar and to cause the development of a downward force by the arcuate bend portion of the body upon said support member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 483,858 McGarrell Oct. 4, 1892 486,954 McCoole Nov. 29, 1892 854,378 Ochoa May 21, 1907 1,039,758 Klein Oct. 1, 1912 1,075,112 Lackie Oct. 7, 1913 1,457,969 Gadd June 5, 1923 1,896,456 Moore Feb. 7, 1933 2,018,995 Campbell Oct. 29, 1935 

